The present invention relates to a vehicle body and to a motor vehicle and a method of manufacturing a vehicle body.
In motor vehicles, bodies made of steel or aluminum are used having a two-shell or a multi-shell structure, wherein one or several inner shells and one outer shell are both made of metal and have an approximately equal shape in order to be capable of being easily interconnected. Interior equipment is attached to the inner shell, wherein the interior equipment is normally snap-fitted onto the inner shell at selected positions, creating a more or less loose connection between the interior equipment and the inner shell. The outer shell and the inner shell as well as the interior equipment form a passenger compartment together with other components.
DE 102 52 475 A1 discloses a vehicle body having a two-part structure, wherein an inner shell and an outer shell are divided and made of plastic. The inner shell is attached to a basic frame made of metal, and the outer shell is subsequently placed at a distance above the inner shell such that a cavity is formed between the inner shell and the outer shell. In order to stiffen the vehicle body, either the cavity is foamed using plastic foam and/or metal foam, or body reinforcing elements are arranged in the cavity.
DE 1 275 372 B shows a motor vehicle having a vehicle body made of plastic material having a torsion-resistant floor assembly comprising longitudinal and cross frame beams made of metal and embraced by two plastic shells. The remaining assemblies of the vehicle body are built up on this torsion-resistant floor assembly using simple and large-area shell parts. Therein it is disadvantageous that the remaining assemblies are not torsion-resistant.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,287,797 B1 discloses a motor vehicle having a modular structure arranged on a metal chassis. The structure comprises three prefabricated parts which are manufactured in a plastic injection molding process using a stable plastic material, which is stabilized by means of rigid foam. Disadvantageously, an additional process step is required due to the plurality of parts used, in order to improve the rigidity of the modular structure.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body, a motor vehicle and a method of manufacturing the vehicle body, wherein the rigidity, especially the torsional rigidity and/or the flexural rigidity, of the vehicle body is ensured without additional components or process steps. Furthermore, the vehicle body and the vehicle are to be inexpensive to manufacture.